Credit cards can ‘debt-o-nate’ student wallets
■ OSPIRG has begun a new
campaign to keep students
informed of credit dangers
By Kara Cogswell
Oregon Daily Emerald
When Shannon Warren signed
up for her first credit card two years
ago, she never thought she would
have a problem paying it off.
“I’m a person who hates debt,”
Warren said. “It gives me so much
stress.”
And until this year, the junior
French major was careful to pay off
her balance in full every month.
But then she used her card to pay
for a trip to Brazil, and since then,
she has only been able to make the
minimum payment each month. By
the time she can pay off the entire
bill, interest rates will have made
the total payment much higher.
Warren is not alone in her credit
card woes. Through letters, phone
calls and other promotional cam
paigns, credit card companies
spend a lot of time directing mar
keting efforts at college students.
And for many, the temptation of
what seems to be “easy money” can
be too much to resist.
But OSPIRG warns that fine print
can hide behind the free T-shirts
and gifts offered to students when
they apply for a card — and high
interest rates can send students into
a spiral of debt that can be hard to
escape.
And that’s why the Oregon Stu
dent Public Interest Research
Group, in conjunction with the na
tional PIRG campaign, is working
to raise students’ awareness about
credit card debt.
Credit card companies aggres
sively market credit cards to college
students, said Melissa Unger, state
board chair for OSPIRG.
“They target students because
they know they’re more likely to go
in to debt,” she said.
Unger added that many students
sign up for a credit card without
fully understanding the terms of
the agreement. Companies make
the credit card’s terms seem more
favorable than they actually are,
she said, by advertising an intro
ductory annual percentage rate or
APR, which generally lasts only a
few months.
After this brief introductory peri
od, the rates can increase dramati
cally, Unger said. And because
APRs can vary widely, it is impor
tant to read the fine print on any
credit card application.
According to a report OSPIRG re
leased earlier this year, regular
APRs can range from 7.99 percent
to 30.25 percent — and OSPIRG
has recommended students look for
an APR near or below 15.04 per
cent.
Students should be wary of any
credit card offer they have not fully
researched, Unger said. In addition
to knowing the regular APR, it is
important to know what the penal
ty APR is — the higher interest rate
a person is charged when a pay
ment is missing or late.
“Know the APR, know what the
late fees are, read the fine print,”
Unger said.
Citibank spokeswoman Maria
Mendler said her company has
been marketing credit cards to col
lege students for the past 20 years.
The Internet has opened up more
marketing avenues for companies
to reach students. But Citibank’s
credit card promotions aimed at
college students are not deceptive,
she said.
“We want our customers to under
stand the terms and conditions,”
Mendler said. “We do believe credit
education is important.”
Consumer information about
credit card debt is available on the
company’s Web site, she said. In ad
dition, the company makes avail
able pamphlets on debt, along with
card information at campus sign-up
tables.
Credit cards are safer than cash
because they offer protection from
theft and fraud, Mendler said. But
students need to remember that
they are as responsible for a credit
card payment as they would be in a
cash transaction.
“Credit cards should be used as a
form of payment, not as an exten
sion of income,” Mendler said.
Unger said she doubts credit ed
ucation efforts by card companies
have been sincere.
“If they were sincere, they would
encourage students to read the fine
print,” she said.
Instead, Unger said, credit card
companies would prefer to leave
students in the dark. At many cam
pus promotions, there are no edu
cational materials on credit debt
available, she said, adding that she
and other OSPIRG members would
like to prohibit credit card compa
nies from distributing promotional
materials on campus without also
handing out information on debt.
Unger said she does not want to
discourage students from using
credit cards. She simply wants to
make them aware of deceptive tac
tics being used against them.
“I’m not saying that credit cards
are bad or not helpful,” she said.
“I’m just saying that credit card
companies are trying to take us for
all that we’re worth.”
For Warren, the consequences of
her credit card use have been a
mixed bag.
Having a credit card has allowed
her to travel and take advantage of
opportunities she might not other
wise have been able to afford, she
said. But her credit card debt is also
a constant source of worry — one
she is anxious to erase.
“My number one priority after I
finish school is to pay off my credit
card debt,” Warren said. “In the fu
ture, I’m going to be much more
careful.”
Bend
continued from page 1
Central Oregon a full range of courses
offered by both universities.
He said the University will con
tinue to offer full bachelor’s degrees
in the humanities in Bend and also
provide an administrative licensure
program that could lead to a mas
ter’s in education.
OSU Provost and Vice President
Tim White said there had been “in
numerable interactions” between
the two universities in forming the
implementation plans for the Bend
campus and that he was quite
pleased with the level of collabora
tion.
He said part of OSU’s plans has
been the formation of a implementa
tion counsel that White said he has
invited several provosts from other
universities to join.
“I feel very good about our will
ingness to cooperate and collabo
rate,” he said.
OSU has already compiled a de
tailed implementation plan that out
lines both the curriculum and ad
ministration of the branch campus
that will be named Oregon State
University — Central Oregon.
Several schools in the Oregon
University System already offer
courses at the Central Oregon Com
munity College campus where the
branch campus will be located, and
White said OSU will work to retain
those academic programs.
“We wish to be as cooperative
and collaborative as possible,” he
said.
OUS Chancellor Joe Cox said the
implementation plan is well on its
way and that he expects the board to
be pleased with the discussion on
Friday.
He said there has been some ten
sion in the planning stages, but that
could be expected.
“Is everyone going to be a happy
camper?,” Cox said. “Probably not.”
While Cox would not directly
comment on the cooperation be
tween the University and OSU, he
did say that there will be a strong
level of cooperation between the ac
ademic programs that are already in
place on the COCC campus.
20/30
continued from page 1
“It’s nice to be around people
who understand our issues,” West
erick said. “I have plenty of friends
who are straight, but it’s not the
same.”
Because of the age demographic
of the club, many University stu
dents can take part in the social
events. Jarvis said half of those at
tending the first meeting were Uni
versity students.
Chicora Martin, director of the
University Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
and Transgender Educational and
Support Services, said the social
group is a healthy alternative to the
bar scene.
“I’ve, received a lot of positive
comments from my staff about the
group,” Martin said. “There are
not a lot of opportunities outside
of the bar scene, and this group
provides events that don’t revolve
around alcohol.”
Martin said despite positive ef
forts, youth at the University are
still targeted because of their orien
tation. She said this group provides
a trust not found elsewhere.
“It provides a safe space where
like people can have conversa
tions about issues concerning
them,” Martin said.
Jarvis stresses this is not specifi
cally a support group, but a more
laid-back social atmosphere. West
erick agrees this is a good focus for
the group.
“The events provide more of a
social arena rather than a support
system,” Westerick said.
Awards
continued from page 1
years ago, Frank said.
But, Frank added, he and other
faculty members of the Honors Col
lege are actively working to improve
diversity within the program.
Diversity affects
everyone, no matter our
race, our culture, our
beliefs...
Bola Majekobaje
coordinator
“The Zero Awards are an indica
tion of what we once were, and not
what we are,” Frank said.
One way the Honors College is
working to increase diversity in the
department is by recruiting a more di
verse student body. Out of next year’s
incoming student body, Frank said,
17 percent are students of color.
There are also plans to bring three
faculty members of color from out
side the Honors College to teach
classes in the department next year,
Frank said.
Along with the Zero Awards, a
“speak out” was held in the am
phitheater so students could voice
their opinions on diversity and polit
ical activism on campus.
During the “speak out,” Bola Ma
jekobaje encouraged anyone interest
ed to come up and take the micro
phone. Majekobaje, one of the
event’s coordinators, reminded stu
dents that diversity is not an issue
concerning one particular group.
“Diversity affects everyone, no
matter our race, our culture, our be
liefs,” Majekobaje said.
Dr. Edwin Coleman Conference
events continue tonight at 7 p.m.
with a debate on affirmative action,
which will be held in the William W.
Knight Law Center.
Friday, the MCC will host a benefit
dinner' to raise AIDS awareness,
which will take place at 6 p.m. in the
EMU Fir Room. Then at 7 p.m., ac
tivists Amiri Baraka and Elaine
Brown will present the conference’s
keynote address in Columbia 150.
2000-2001 Zero
Awards
Honors College
Political Science
Economics
Theatre Arts
Geography
Planning, Public Policy and Man
agement
Arts and Administration
Landscape Architecture
Germanic Languages
School of Music
School of Dance
SOURCE: The Multicultural Center
The MCC Presents
The Dr. Edwin Coleman Conference:
“Reawakening: Remembrance and the Radical Reality”
April 18-22, 2001
Wednesday, April 18
"Speak Out"and "ZERO"Awards
Johnson Hall &
EMU Amphitheater/11 -3pm
Holocaust Readings by JSU
EMU Amphitheater/ All Night
Thursday, April 19
Holocaust Readings Continued
EMU Amphitheater/All Day
Affirmative Action Debate
Tim Wise & Dinesh D’Souza
William W. Knight Law Center/7pm
Friday, April 20
MCC AIDS Awareness Reception
EMU Fir Room • 6pm
Keynote Speakers
• Amiri Baraka:
Poet, Writer and Activist
• Elaine Brown:
Author and Activist
Columbia 150 • 7pm
Saturday, April 21
“Reach for Success:
Higher Education Orientation
for Oregon Middle School
Students of Color”
Campus/3pm
Workshops on Saturday:
• “Internal Racism”
• “Activism and other
Creative Processes”
with Aya de Leon
• “What Does White Have
to do with Diversity?”
with Tim McMahon
Colsing Performance:
• Aya de Leon: Poet and Actvist
• Cristina: International
Musician
• Other Artists
EMU Ball RoonrfBpm
Sunday, April 22
Earth Day
For More Information:
Multicultural Center
346-4207 or 346-4321
eaf@darkwing.uoregon.edu
suite 33 Erb Memorial Union
University of Oregon
Sponsored by: Career Center, Counseling Center, Housing Office, Women in Society, English Department, SARO, Journalism School,
EMU Student Activities, President’s Fund, Student Life, Romance Languages, MEChA, APASU, KP
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